Vejrak handed dramatic last lap A2 win
Meen Vejrak sits perfectly poised to claim his first ever Yokomo Euro Touring Series victory as the Thai driver was dramatically handed a last lap A2 win when Top Qualifier Ronald Volker ran into the back of race leader Bruno Coelho on the final run down the main straight. Having got past team-mate Yannic Prumper earlier in the race, Vejrak was able to slip through the chaos with three corners to go to take the win half a second from a recovering Coelho while A1 winner Prumper completed the Top 3.
With Coelho and Volker also making contact in the opening A-Main as the former tried a pass on the defending champion, Coelho this time round made an impressive pass on the Yokomo driver stick and looked to be on his way to check out for the win. With Volker’s car improving, with 2-minutes to go he started to close the gap on the leading Xray. Right with the Portugese driver, on the final run through the sweeper Volker would get a better run on his rival but half way down the straight he would spectacularly end up rear ending the white T4.
Giving his reaction to the incident Coelho, ‘I think I made a great overtake on him (Volker) and then I only try to defend and do nothing stupid but on the last lap he crashed me. There was no way to pass me in that place’. One of the most exciting drivers to emerge in top flight international electric touring car racing in recent years, the 21-year-old said ‘at least I still managed to get second so the overall win is still on and for sure I will go for it in A3’. The overall win is now a three way battle but even with a win in the closing leg Coelho needs to run a faster ran time than Vejrak’s A2 winning time or if Prumper can get second he must beat the A1 winning time.
Getting a 10-second penalty for causing the incident and going to Coelho’s pits immediately afterwards to apologise and take the full blame, Volker said ‘I feel absolutely terrible and know I made the wrong decision’. He continued ‘I knew it was risky because of the bump before the sweeper but I gambled and got the perfect line onto the straight but I wasn’t prepared for the speed difference and collected Bruno, I can fully understand Team Xray being mad at me. It was not intentional and in hinesight I should have settle for second not just in terms of having a chance for the win today but in terms too for the overall championship’.
‘Car is improving and so is my luck’ joked Vejrak after the race. The former Nitro Touring Car World Champion said he was doubly lucky. Improving his car for the second A-Main by again changing back to the rear arms he ran in qualifying and fitting a more flexible top deck, he said having got by Prumper a broken sensor cover, which allowed the motor timing to change, left him lacking straight like speed but luckily the motor kept running. Focusing on keeping Prumper behind on the last lap he said all of a sudden he was leading. Describing his BD7 as ‘perfect’ he said other than fit a new motor sensor cover he would run it as is confident he can now race for a win on true performance.
Prumper said a bad line over the bump unsettled his car causing him to hit the curbing onto the straight allowing Vejrak through. Able to come back at his team-mate he said he did have enough to try for a pass. While a second place finish could secure him the overall win he said due to the race time tie breaker he has no choice but to go for the win in A3. Behind the Top 3, Tamiya’s Marc Rheinard would finish 4th followed by Alexander Hagberg with Freddy Sudhoff completing the Top 6.
In a more sedate second A-Main of the Xray Pro Stock class Marek Cerny took the win to claim his second overall win of the Season #8. Behind the defending champion, Christian Donath would finish second having got by the Yokomo of former champion Martin Hofer. In Formula, Hofer would take the win from Roman Pichler and Marco Donadelli as A1 winner Michele Romagnoli and Top Qualifier David Ehrbar had a difficult race.
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